


That's What Friends Are For

by madders



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-12
Updated: 2012-07-12
Packaged: 2017-11-09 20:16:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/457951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madders/pseuds/madders
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knows that of the two of them, Jared's the carefree one. But Jensen knows better.</p><p>Author's Note: This fic has been kicking around in my head for months, and I've finally got to the point where I couldn't ignore it any longer and had to start writing it. However, this one has stalled, and I don't know if/when I will finish it, but it's up here so I don't lose it.</p><p>Disclaimer: I don't own any of these guys, they own themselves, and I don't think for a second that any of this is real and actually happened.</p><p>Warnings: Mentions of non-con rape and the aftermath- so proceed with caution if you find that triggery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jensen watched from the background as Jared played up to his audience of fellow party goers, a half smile on his face at his antics, but he couldn’t go over there and just fall into the role of careless best friend and co-worker, no matter how hard he tried.

Instead he kept thinking back over the past few months, over every moment, every conversation that they had shared, and every revelation he had made, and then go back over his own experiences and try and work out why Jared? And why not him?

Of the two of them he was the one who should have been fucked up and broken.

After all, he was four years older, he’d been in LA longer, and he’d worked on a soap for fucks sake!

So how was it that Jared was more fucked in the head than he was?

To everyone around him, Jared seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world. But Jensen wasn’t everyone. He’d spent more time with him than anyone else ever had, and it hadn’t taken him long to see beneath the facade that Jared put up.

Because the public Jared and the private Jared? Were two very different people.

He sipped at his drink, watching Jared be the center of attention, twirling some nameless girl around on the dance floor and acting like a gigantic dork.

But acting was all it was.

Jensen felt a heavy hand fall on his shoulder a moment before he was pulled back against Chris’ chest, almost overbalancing them both to the floor.

“Whatcha staring at Jenny-boy?” he slurred, handing over another Tequila shot with a grin.

“Nothing,” Jensen replied, shaking his head and turning to look at his friend. “Just thinking.”

Chris snorted. “All the hot women in this place and you’re thinking” he scoffed. “You, my friend, clearly need more to drink.”

Jensen was saved from answering by the arrival of Steve, who pulled Chris back from Jensen with a grin. “And you, my friend, have clearly had enough,” he grinned, and Jensen couldn’t help but laugh as Steve took Chris’ drink from his hand and tossed it back in one shot.

“Hey!” Chris complained loudly, starting Jensen off in a fit of laughter as Chris snatched the now empty glass back and stared at it forlornly.

“You’re such a bitch, Steve,” Chris whined.

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve replied, rolling his eyes at Jensen.

Something drew his attention back to the dance floor and Jensen turned to see Chad appear and wrap an arm around the girl Jared was dancing with, pulling her back against him and pushing his hips against her butt obscenely.

The girl, who had been laughing, stiffened and tried to pull away from him, but Chad’s grip was too strong.

Jared stopped smiling and yelled something at Chad, but Jensen wasn’t near enough to hear what he said. Chad thrust against her again, smirking at Jared, who took a step closer to the girl, reaching out as if he was going to try and pull her away from him. Chad yelled something else, and Jared’s hand dropped, his face going completely blank as he clamped down on his emotions and shut down. Jensen had seen that look enough times and scowled, knowing that this wasn’t good.

“Fucker,” he heard Chris snarl, and turned to see that Chris’ attention was on the dance floor now too.

He glanced back and saw that Jared had turned on his heel to leave, Chad yelling something at his back whilst continuing to grope the girl in his arms.

Jensen was torn, wanting to help the girl and go after Jared at the same time.

Steve put a hand on his shoulder and nodded in the direction of Jared’s retreating back. “Go, we’ve got her,” he promised, before following after Chris, who had already started towards Chad.

For a moment Jensen considered telling Steve not to let Chris hurt Chad too much, but thought better of it. He fucking deserved it, for more than one reason.

Instead he chased after Jared, reaching him just as he reached the exit.

“Jared!” he yelled, catching his arm as he was about to get into a cab.

Jared turned around, his face still painfully blank, but in the dim light outside Jensen could catch the shine of his eyes.

“C’mon man, let’s go,” he urged, steering him gently away from the cab and over to the parking lot where he had left his truck earlier.

Jared didn’t respond, but let himself be guided into the passenger’s seat. Jensen quickly rounded the front to his side and climbed in, buckling up and watching as Jared moved mechanically, buckling himself in only after Jensen reminded him, still not speaking.

Jensen was worried, he’d only seen Jared like this a couple of times, and he still didn’t know how best to deal with him when it happened.

Deciding that there was nothing he could do as long as they were sat in his truck in a parking lot, Jensen started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

Whatever he was going to do, he wasn’t going to leave Jared alone, and he didn’t want to take him back to his own house either.

Throwing one last concerned glance at Jared, Jensen turned his truck in the direction of his own home, leaving the club far behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

They didn’t speak the entire journey back to Jensen’s house, Jared was lost in a world of his own, and either didn’t notice, or ignored the looks Jensen kept throwing him in the dim glow of the dashboard lighting.

Jensen considered trying to make him talk, but experience told him that Jared wasn’t going to say anything until he was ready, and pushing him now would do Jensen no good at all, no matter how much he wanted it to.

He sighed softly as he reached the streets near his home, feeling some of the pressure lifting from his shoulders with the knowledge that they would be inside soon, and away from the outside world somewhat. He knew it was only an illusion, but his home was his sanctuary, and just being there made him feel at peace, so he hoped that Jared would feel that too.

Pulling into the driveway, Jensen pulled to a stop, putting the car in park and switching off the engine. His house was set back from the street, and away from the glow of the streetlights, so with the absence of any light from the car, Jared was nothing more than a motionless silhouette beside him.

He frowned and opened the door, which set off the interior light, and he blinked a little against the glare. Jared remained still beside him, showing no sign of opening his own door.

Jensen sighed heavily and climbed out of the car, settling his feet on the driveway and shutting the door behind him before heading around to Jared’s side of the car.

He pulled the door open, and put a hand on Jared’s shoulder gently. Jared startled a little at the touch, but roused himself enough to undo his seatbelt and swing his legs out of the car.

Jensen stepped back as Jared emerged from the car and watched as Jared stood fully upright and shut the door behind him.

He nodded at Jared and locked the car before heading to the front door, opening it and punching in the alarm code by the time Jared had reached the door.

“C’mon in Jare,” Jensen urged him softly, stepping over to close the front door behind him. He turned and headed for the living room, where he settled a still scarily-pliant Jared on the sofa before heading for the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, his eyes wandered over the six-pack of beer sitting there, but passed it over in favor of a couple of bottles of water. They’d had enough to drink, and letting Jared get smashed was not going to help matters any.

He returned to the other room, stopping in the doorway as he spotted Jared, whose head was tipped back against the back of the sofa, his posture almost screaming defeat.

It was so unlike the Jared that Jensen knew that it threw him for a moment.

Jared, sensing eyes on him, lifted his head and met Jensen’s gaze, his eyes blank and dull. Even through the alcohol, Jensen could see the barely masked pain in that look.

Taking a deep breath, Jensen walked over to the couch, holding out the bottle for Jared to take.

Jared took it with a frown, before staring at it like it held all the answers to the universe within its confines.

Jensen sat on the opposite end of the sofa, his body turned to face his friend.

“Jared?” he began softly.

Jared didn’t look up from the bottle, twisting it round and round in his fingers.

“Jared?” Jensen tried again, reaching out a hand to nudge him.

He stopped as Jared flinched away from him before he made contact, and let his hand drop to the cushions between them.

“Jay, man. C’mon, what’s wrong?” he pressed. “What happened with Chad?”


	3. Chapter 3

"Which time?" Jared answered finally, still staring at the ceiling.

Jensen paused, confused. He was going to say 'just now,' but had a feeling that it would be the wrong question to ask.

"Jared?" Jensen asked, this time letting his hand rest on Jared's chest as he twisted to look at him fully. "C'mon dude," he wheedled, "talk to me buddy."

Jared flinched from the touch a little before settling back into the cushions. He still didn't look at Jensen as he shook his head.

“I can't," he replied eventually, voice thick.

Jensen recognized that Jared was at his limits and backed off, tapping him gently on his chest before standing.

"Okay man," he relented. "Time we got to bed. Early flight back in the morning, and we'll have to swing by yours and pick all your stuff up before we hit the airport."

Jared sat up, choosing to look at the floor instead of Jensen. "I should go home now," he spoke softly, making to stand.

"Nah," Jensen told him. "S'okay Jare, I'll just set the alarm an hour early is all. Besides, you're in no condition to get yourself home right now. Just crash in the spare room for the night, it'll be fine."

Jared finally looked up at him, eyes still shadowed.

"I..." he began.

"Unless you're agreeing then shut up Jarhead," Jensen teased gently. "I'm not taking no for an answer."

That raised an almost-smile out of his friend, and Jensen grinned, holding out a hand to help Jared up. "C'mon man, let's get you something to sleep in, and then we can crash. We've gotta be up at the buttcrack of dawn anyhow, so sooner we get to bed, the more sleep we'll get."

Jared looked at his hand for a moment before taking it, letting Jensen pull him upright before following him down the hallway to the guest room.

Less than an hour later, and Jensen was still trying to get to sleep, tossing and turning with frustration. He was tired, but his mind kept spinning back to everything he knew about Jared, trying to put the pieces together to work out what was going on.

He stilled when he thought he heard a noise from the bedroom across the hall, but when he didn't hear anything else, he rolled over again. A few minutes later, and he heard the sound again. He frowned and pushed the covers off, standing up and heading for the bedroom door. He stepped out into the hallway, pausing to listen, before his attention was drawn to the room Jared was sleeping in.

Stepping out into the hall, he could now tell that the noise was coming from Jared's room, and it sounded like he was having a nightmare. Putting one hand on the handle, Jensen paused, wondering if he should go into the room, and what Jared's response would be if it turned out he was just worrying about nothing.

A particularly distressed sound from inside the room had Jensen moving before he even realized it, opening the door and stepping inside. He stopped only a few feet in, taking in the sight in front of him.

Jared was asleep, curled up smaller than any man his size should be able to, arms around his head as if protecting himself from something. The sheets had twisted around his legs and waist, which had the effect of stopping his movements, appearing to panic him further.

For a moment Jensen was frozen at the sight of his larger-than-life friend looking so broken, until a whimper from Jared finally got him moving.

“Jared,” Jensen called softly, moving into the room a little. Jared didn’t respond, other than to make another, pained sound. Jensen moved closer still, feeling uncomfortable witnessing Jared like this, but knowing that he couldn’t just walk away and not do anything.

His feet found him at the side of the bed, and he reached out a hand to touch Jared’s shoulder. It was only thanks to his training for Supernatural that he was able to duck the flying fist that came his way as soon as his hand made contact with Jared’s skin.

He swore and jumped back, tripping over Jared’s jeans and falling on his ass.

The noise woke Jared, who sat up in bed with a start.

“Jen?” Jared called, confused.

Jensen looked up at his friend, slowly climbing back to his feet.

“What are you doing on the floor?” Jared asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

Jensen looked at Jared, deciding to go for it. “I couldn’t sleep and heard noise from in here, so I came to make sure you were alright,” he explained. He watched Jared’s shoulders hunch, as if Jared knew what was coming before he even said it. “You looked like you were having a nightmare, so I tried to wake you up.”

“Did I hurt you?” Jared asked worriedly.

Jensen looked at him. “No, but I tripped over your stupid jeans when I ducked out of the way,” he admitted.

“You okay?” Jared asked.

“Yeah, but I’ll prolly have a nice bruise on my ass thanks to you,” Jensen complained, rubbing said ass.

Jared smiled at Jensen’s joke, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Jensen sighed. “Jared? You gonna talk now?” he asked.

Jared looked away, and Jensen waited, until eventually Jared’s body slumped in defeat.

Jensen sat on the edge of the bed, letting Jared have space.

They sat in silence for a bit, while Jared composed himself.

Jared’s fingers played with the sheet pooled around his waist, and he never looked up at Jensen as he spoke, finally spilling his secret to someone else.

“It was back when I first started on Gilmore Girls,” he began slowly. “Chad and I used to go party a lot, usually at his place. There’d be a lot of booze and... stuff there,” he added, and Jensen knew what he meant. He nodded, even though Jared wasn’t looking at him.

“One time, it got late, and something happened. I never took drugs, didn’t like to lose control like that, but Chad and these guys thought it would be funny to get me loaded. I don’t know what it was, but I guess they put something in my drink,” he revealed, and Jensen frowned, not liking where this was going, but he bit his tongue, rather than disturb Jared’s recounting of the events.

“I don’t remember much,” Jared admitted. “But even that is too much. I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t stop them. They pushed me down, took off my clothes and they…” he broke off and choked on sobs, forcing Jensen out of his stupor.

Jensen moved then, reaching across the space and wrapping Jared in his arms. Jared fought him for a moment, but Jensen clung on determinedly, refusing to let him go. Eventually Jared slumped against Jensen, chest hitching with sobs.

“Jesus Jared, I’m so sorry,” he told him, upset that he never suspected anything like this, and angry as hell at Chad for being so cruel.

“What did Chad say to you tonight that upset you?” he asked, knowing instinctively that there had to be more to the story.

“He asked me if I… if I was up for a repeat performance, considering I liked it so much the first time.”

“Motherfucking cocksucking whore,” Jensen swore, making Jared flinch. “Ima kill ‘im,” he swore; his accent slipping.

Jared shook against him and he restrained himself, tamping down on his anger in order to calm Jared.

“Sorry Jay,” he apologized. “But that’s unforgivable.”

“He’s right though,” Jared sniffed. “I did like it,” he admitted. “When I came around the next morning I was covered with the proof.”

Jensen swore softly and sighed, making Jared look up at him before he continued.

“Jared, it was rape, whatever way you look at it, and if you did come, it doesn’t mean you liked it,” he explained. “Depending on what they gave you, it might’ve made you more susceptible, and if they hit the right spot, you’ll come whether you want to or not,” he added.

Jared didn’t respond, and Jensen knew that he hadn’t really taken it in. He rested his chin on Jared’s shoulder, tilting his head to rest against Jared’s.

“He ever touches you again and I’ll kill him,” Jensen swore softly.

Jared laughed, but it sounded broken. “You gonna protect my honor Jenny?” he asked.

“Anything,” Jensen swore, letting the honesty show in his voice.

“My hero,” Jared replied, trying to pull out of Jensen’s arms. Jensen held him for a little bit longer before letting him go; turning so they faced each other.

“Thank you for telling me Jared,” he told him.

Jared looked away and nodded. Jensen reached up and gently turned Jared’s face back to him. “I swear to you that I will never breathe a word of this to another soul,” he promised. “But I want you to know that I will be here if you ever want to talk about it. You can’t bottle this up man, and I guess you’ve not told anyone before?”

Jared shook his head, looking down.

Jensen nodded, “Okay, I’m not a shrink, and I promise to try and not treat you any differently, but just remember that I am your best friend, and I’ll willingly be here for you, however you need me, okay?”

Jared looked at Jensen and could see the honesty in his eyes; he cracked half a smile and nodded, before pulling Jensen into a tight hug.

“Thanks,” he replied simply.

Jensen held onto the hug for a moment before releasing him. He caught sight of the clock and sighed.

“Alarm’s gonna go off in about an hour, you wanna get up and get ready?” he offered.

“You didn’t sleep?” Jared asked.

“I’ll sleep on the plane,” Jensen promised. “I fall asleep now and I’ll be useless for the rest of the day.”

“More than normal?” Jared teased gently, trying to get back to some kind of normality.

“Fuck off,” Jensen swore at him, but there was no heat in his words.

“Whatever dude, you know it’s gonna take you that extra hour to go make yourself look pretty.”

Jensen replied as maturely as he could and stuck his tongue out at Jared before climbing off the bed and leaving the room.

Jared huffed a laugh before falling back against the pillows, trying to process everything that had happened, unable to believe that he’d finally revealed his secret, and feeling lighter because of it.

A few hours later and they were on a plane, heading back to Vancouver and the set. Jensen was asleep almost before they took off, but Jared stayed awake a little longer, staring at his best friend, unable to believe that he’d been so lucky to find someone like Jensen.

He’d always felt dirty after that night, and he’d never dared tell anyone what had happened, but now someone knew and had promised to stand by him, it felt like some of the weight was lifted. He didn’t kid himself that it would fix everything, but at least he had an outlet now.

Back in Vancouver, things fell back into something approaching normal. A few times Jared caught Jensen watching him as if he thought he might break, but on the whole Jensen lived up to his promise not to treat him any differently. If anything, Jensen was a little more friendly with him, as if reassuring Jared that he didn’t find him repulsive by accepting his touches more easily and returning them with his own.

They’d not had any more heart-to-hearts, but that was okay, and they had pretty much settled back to normal until something came up that sent Jared spinning off course.


	4. Chapter 4

Filming was back in full swing, Season Four well underway, and Jensen and Jared were both working themselves to the bone in order to keep up with the workload. They were both pretty exhausted and wrung out, having had to break down their own emotional barriers in order to do their characters justice.

Jared was standing off to one side with Genevieve, watching Misha and Jensen block a scene, filling the time with idle gossip and chatter.

“I saw the funniest thing on the net yesterday,” Genevieve told him. “I know you told me to steer clear of the blogs about the show, but I couldn’t resist.”

“Oh, god! What did they come up with now?” Jared asked, laughing. “More tales of mine and Jen’s epic love story?”

“No,” she laughed. “This was about Ruby and Sam,” she told him. “Apparently some of the fans are upset at the suggestion that they’re fucking, because she’s possessing some poor girl, which means that she can’t give consent, so Sam’s actually raping her!” she laughed. “Can you believe that?”

Jared blanched, feeling the world spin around him. The thought that he, that Sam… Without saying a word he turned and walked away, leaving Genevieve standing there in shock.

Jensen appeared at her elbow instantly. “What’s wrong?” he asked her, having seen Jared go almost white as he’d finished blocking.

“I just told him about this stupid blog on the net that reckoned Sam was raping Ruby’s host,” she explained. “I don’t know why he walked off.”

Jensen swore under his breath; “I’ll go see what’s up,” he promised, heading straight for Jared’s trailer.

He tried the door, finding it locked and swore again, the last thing he wanted to do was cause a scene. Knocking on the door softly he called “C’mon Jared, lemme in.”

There was the sound of the toilet flushing and shuffling inside before the lock clicked, and Jensen let himself in.

Jared was standing in front of him, eyes red rimmed and looking pale and shaky. Jensen wasted no time pulling him into a hug, feeling Jared stiff and unyielding in his arms.

“S’okay Jared, it’s just stupid fangirls reading far too much into everything as usual,” he told him, before letting him go. Jared turned away and sat on the sofa, head in hands.

Jensen turned and locked the door behind him before heading over to Jared, settling on the floor in front of him and resting his hands on Jared’s knees. They stayed like that in silence for several minutes before Jared finally looked up at Jensen, looking broken.

“Hey,” Jensen said softly.

Jared scrubbed at his eyes. “I suppose everyone saw that?” he sighed.

“Not everyone, pretty much just me and Genevieve,” Jensen replied. “I only caught it because I was facing you at the time, and most of the crew was watching us finish blocking the scene.”

Jensen squeezed Jared’s knee. “You okay?” he asked.

Jared huffed out a laugh in response, and Jensen smiled wryly. “Yeah I know, stupid question,” Jensen answered his own question.

Jared ducked his head again and didn’t respond.

Jensen looked at his friend, knowing that he’d need more than a few minutes to compose himself.

“Look,” he began gently. “You’re not needed for any scenes until after lunch. Let me go out there and finish up, let everyone know that you’re not feeling so good and are catching some sleep, that way you can take some time. I’ll come find you at lunch and we can talk if you need to,” he promised.

Jared nodded slowly; not ready to face anybody just yet.

Jensen smiled and patted his knee as he stood up. “Great, just promise me one thing?” he asked.

Jared looked up at him questioningly. “Just promise me that you won’t spend all the time in here alone thinking about it, okay?” Jensen begged.

“I’ll try,” Jared responded, knowing he couldn’t promise any more than that.

Jensen nodded and squeezed Jared’s shoulder, knowing that was all he could ask.

“Take it easy man, I’ll make sure you’re left alone,” he said. “Lock the door behind me, and I’ll text you when we break for lunch, ‘kay?”

“’Kay,” Jared replied, nodding.

Jensen smiled and walked back to the door, unlocking it. Jared called to him before he stepped outside.

“Jen?”

Jensen stopped and looked back at him.

“Thanks,” Jared said, smiling slightly.

“No problem man, anytime,” Jensen told him, before stepping out and closing the door behind him. Jared stepped over and flicked the catch to lock it again before sitting down on the sofa, wishing he’d brought Sadie and Harley with him today to keep him company.

Because left in the silence of his trailer, he had nothing but time to distract him.


	5. Chapter 5

Jensen made it back to Jared’s trailer just over an hour later. He’d sent a text to Jared to let him know he was coming, and grabbed them both some food from craft services before heading over. He knocked on the door and Jared let him in quietly, taking some of the trays from Jensen and setting them on the table.

They sat in silence as they sorted through the food, although Jared wasn’t really enthusiastic about eating anything.

Jensen watched him for a moment before nudging him under the table with his knee.

“C’mon man, you need to eat something,” he urged.

Jared speared a piece of chicken and ate it, chewing slowly and staring at Jensen.

Jensen rolled his eyes and took a bite of his own food, watching Jared pointedly until Jared carried on eating. Jensen made sure Jared ate enough to keep him going before letting him stop, cajoling and pushing him until at least half of the food was gone. He’d known that Jared wouldn’t be up for eating a lot, but he’d deliberately picked up as much food as possible, so he could trick Jared into eating more than he thought he would.

Jared steered the conversation away from anything to do with his emotions though, carefully avoiding any of Jensen’s questions, or not bothering to answer them at all.

Jensen managed to fill the silence with chatter, keeping Jared concentrating on anything other than what had upset him, and it mostly worked. Jared let himself be distracted, and slowly lightened up a little more, although he still looked pale and shaky.

Soon enough, there was a knock on the door, and Jensen turned to look at Jared questioningly. Jared stared back, frozen in place for a moment before shaking himself out of it and returning Jensen’s gaze.

“I’ll be fine,” he assured Jensen.

Jensen looked at him for another long moment before nodding.

“Okay,” he agreed. “Use the excuse that you’re feeling sick again if you need to,” he urged. “I told Phil you might be coming down with a 24 hour bug or something,” he explained.

Jared nodded gratefully. “Thanks Jen.”

“No problem Jay,” Jensen smiled, before heading over to the door and heading out.

They managed to get through the rest of the day without any problems, everyone having brought Jensen’s explanation of Jared’s sudden illness. Of course, the fact that Jared was still a little pale and subdued also helped a lot. By the time they were released for the day, both men were exhausted.

Jensen stared out of the window on the drive back home, half falling asleep. He jumped a little as a heavy weight fell against his side, and turned his head to find Jared’s form slumped against him, Jared breathing slowly against his neck, fast asleep.

He caught Clif’s eyes in the rear view mirror and smiled a little as Clif laughed softly at the sight.

“Can you just drop me at Jared’s?” Jensen asked quietly, waiting for Clif’s nod of agreement, before turning his attention back to Jared.

About half hour later, Clif pulled up outside Jared’s place, waking Jensen from the light doze he himself had falling into. He eased Jared off of his shoulder before waking him just enough to get him out of the car and moving into the house.

Clif drove off with a wave, leaving Jensen to steer Jared back up to the house. He used his own key to let them in, somehow managing to stop the dogs from escaping and yet still keep Jared upright and not bumping into anything.

Leaving Jared propped up against the wall, yawning madly, Jensen corralled the dogs into the kitchen, filling their food and water bowls and opening up the back door to let them run around and do their business. He then returned to Jared and ignored his arguments as he pulled him up the stairs and into the bedroom. He grabbed Jared’s sleeping clothes and pushed him into the bathroom, telling him to get his ass to bed already and they’d talk in the morning.

Shutting the door behind him, Jensen headed back downstairs and got the dogs back in, before locking up and settling himself down on the sofa. He was tired, but didn’t want to fall asleep until he knew that Jared was okay, so he switched the television on and flicked through the channels until he ended up on ESPN with the sound on mute. He barely felt Sadie climb up on the sofa with him, and fell asleep there, never making it to the spare bedroom.


End file.
